Capo’s, as you may remember, is Tony Gemignani’ssecond true North Beach restaurant and pizzeria, coming on the heels of his runaway hit, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana (and its slice house next door). The theme and inspiration for Capo’s — both in menu and atmosphere — is Chicago of 1920s and 1930s, though you’ll see some cool glimmers of vintage San Francisco around, too; I won’t spoil the surprise.

It’s taken him a year to build, and he’s kept it mostly under wraps until now, in anticipation of a mid-November opening. He built and designed it himself, with a little help from friends, like Ricardo Jacobus, a Neapolitan carpenter who Gemignani certified as a pizzaiolo; Jacobus built the Art Deco-inspired back bar and host stand.

The entire room — split between a bar and red booth-filled dining room — is encased by century-old Chicago bricks; to be precise, seven tons of them were used in the build-out. Capo’s is filled with little flairs like that, be it the 1930s phone booth (which works and can be used to call anywhere in the country, for free) or the mob-related photos on the walls.

On the menu (see below) will be pizza, and much more. As expected, it’s Chicago style pie, but there’s much more to it. There will be seven different pies, each offered in four Chi-town styles: deep dish, cast iron pan, stuffed and cracker thin. Gemignani will also feature a “Quattro Forni” pie, which will be cooked four times in four different ovens; only 20 will be offered a day. The flip side of the menu will be vintage Italian-American, with antipasti (stuffed bell peppers, clams casino, fried calamari), salads, pasta (conchiglie, mostaccioli, lasagna) and house specialties (housemade sausage, chicken Vesuvio). With a day advance, Gemignani will also the “38 Special” — a 3-foot long spaghetti platter with giant meatballas and eight pounds of housemade pasta. Capo’s is cash-only.

And there’s the bar. With a tip of the cap to Prohibition Whiskey will be king, but the signature cocktail will be the Chicago Cocktail, made with Korbel Brandy. The bar will be run by Elmer Mejicanos of Modern Classic Beverage Consutling.

Reservations will be accepted via phone only, and it just so happens that the reservation line is open as of today: (415) 986-8998.

The menu:

Capo’s: 641 Vallejo Street, between Columbus and Stockton. Open for dinner, Wed-Mon. Open for lunch Fri-Sun.